Shieldmaiden Book One: Quest for the Jewel is a YA Fantasy set among the highlands of ancient Scotland during the beginnings of the Norse invasion. Bound by traditions older than anyone can remember, Waiting Lady and Shieldmaiden Bryn of the Brae must decide whether to follow the path of her Druid ancestors or deny her heritage and follow her heart. What begins for Bryn as a leisurely summer trip to the North with the realm’s princess Thalynder, the captain of the king’s guard Arryn and Meydra the dragon companion of the princess, soon becomes an urgent quest to find the one thing that will unite all the realms of Scotland. To bring together the Picts of the North, the Clanns of the West, and the Kingdoms of the South will take nothing less than a legend. The future of a nation rides on the back of a dragon and in the heart of one young woman.

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My current work in progress is a F/F fantasy romance set in the highlands of Scotland when dragons ruled the air, marauders ruled the north sea, and kings were a dime a dozen. The Heroine, Bryn, a young woman from a displaced Druid clann, comes into her own while wielding a sword to protect her love, the Princess Thalynder; thoroughly unaware that she is a Princess in her own right. The two women, accompanied by a Captain of the King’s Royal Guard and the Princess Thalynder’s Dragon Meydra, set off on a journey to the Standing Stones of Stenness, located on the island of Orkney. On the island, Bryn hopes to find answers to her questions about her ancestors and why they left the island. Princess Thalynder hopes the journey will bring out her own true love, unaware of Bryn’s love. Dancing between friendship, sex, and love, the two learn things about themselves that bring them closer together, only to discover a secret, set in the ancient Stones, that will change their lives forever.

Excerpt from Shieldmaiden

The sun was beginning to rise and the day promised to be clear and warm. Meydra was awake long before the sun cleared the horizon and sat very still while her two charges slept peacefully against her chest. Bryn was holding Thalynder and sometime during the night their legs and arms became entwined. They both looked quite content. Meydra smiled at the two and wondered if she should tell them the quest would be in vain. She knew where Thalynder’s true love could be found, but she also knew that Bryn wanted desperately to see the Stones at Stenness. The problem did not lie with the true love, it lie with the Stones. In Stenness, Bryn would learn the truth about who she was and why she had to give up her dragon. Meydra was not sure she was ready to tell that story to Bryn. It would change many things and for the moment, Meydra liked things the way they were. No, she decided, “I will not tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Bryn asked quietly.

“That the sun rises and you will be missed in the Keep,” Meydra whispered.

Bryn hugged Thalynder closer to her. “I like it right here,” she said.

“So do I,” Thalynder replied with a little morning yawn. Thalynder turned in Bryn’s arms to face her bedmate. After a momentary hesitation and a little inhale of breath, Thalynder kissed Bryn’s mouth.

Bryn felt Thalynder’s mouth on hers and her body immediately responded. She pulled Thalynder tight against her and slipped her hand behind Thalynder’s neck. She returned the kiss, letting it linger until Thalynder wanted her to stop. She moaned softly against Thalynder’s mouth.

Thalynder broke the kiss, but did not move. She looked at Bryn and smiled, then reached up and ran her hand over Bryn’s neck. “You are blushing my Bryn,” Thalynder said.

“That was a nice kiss, Lynder,” Bryn replied, and took Thalynder’s hand in hers. “Why did you kiss me?”

“Because you looked so soft and beautiful in the dim light,” Thalynder said. “And, I’ve never kissed a woman before.”

“Neither have I,” Bryn said. Her voice was soft and her lips wet, and she realized that her mouth was not the only thing that was wet. She blushed again, and felt the need to tack a different direction. “Have you kissed a man?”

“Yes, many times,” Thalynder laughed. “The male attendants my father had chosen to be my playmates when I was younger were anything but chaste.” Her breath touched Bryn’s face. “Have you not kissed a man, Bryn?”

“Only once,” Bryn replied. “It was part of my instruction.”

“Oh, yes, I forgot, you druids have other areas of instruction,” Thalynder said and now her voice was thick. “Someday you should instruct me.” She leaned up and kissed Bryn again, this time she pushed her hand against Bryn’s breast.

Bryn’s body responded before she could think. She returned the kiss with more desire, allowing her tongue to brush Thalynder’s lips. She arched her back and pushed her breast hard against Thalynder’s hand, and ran her bare foot up Thalynder’s leg. They continued to kiss and when Bryn moved to touch Thalynder’s neck, and began to undo the laces at the top of her dress, Thalynder abruptly stopped.

“No, my Bryn,” Thalynder said. “Enough instruction for one day.” Thalynder moved to sit up, and put back on her shoes.

Bryn rose to sit next to Thalynder. She was winded from the excitement of having Thalynder in her arms, but began to realize it was all a game to Thalynder. Thalynder’s inquisitive nature, her persistent quest for adventure; were her only feelings for Bryn at that moment. Bryn sighed. Something she had dreamt of doing for many years had happened, and it was all a game. She lifted her tunic off the ground and shook it out before placing it over her head. She got it over her head, and then stood with her back resting against Meydra. Thalynder was standing at Meydra’s tail looking out over the grassy meadow between garden and Keep. Bryn looked longingly at Thalynder’s back. “At least I held her close,” she whispered.

Thalynder turned to look back at Bryn. “Come on Bryn, I’m hungry and we have to prepare for our journey.”

Bryn kissed Meydra’s cheek and heard the little moan of pleasure as it rose deep inside Meydra’s throat. She patted her shoulder, then trotted after Thalynder. She glanced back over her shoulder as she walked under the linden arch, and watched as Meydra lifted effortlessly into the air; the only sound coming from the wind as it moved beneath her wings.

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You’ve experienced it. You’ve coveted it. You’ve used it as an excuse not to attend the house painting party, or the dog birthday party you were invited to, even though you are allergic to everything dog. It is the perfect Saturday afternoon.

Granted, not everyone has experienced the perfect Saturday afternoon. Planets must be aligned just right; in-laws, or outlaws, must be out of town; the weather must be mild enough for you not to break a sweat. Rare components all, but when they fall into place…OM.

This morning I woke after a good nights sleep, something that is in itself a bit of a miracle but that is another post. I dutifully did my sit-ups, pushups, and twenty minute aerobic routine before stepping into the shower. When I got out of the shower, freshly warmed by the hot water, I strode around my apartment in my towel,looking to see what was on my agenda for the day. Vacuum? Nope, did that during the week because of a little crumb incident. Dust? Nope, that followed the vacuuming (please no bickering over which comes first, the vacuum or the duster). Laundry? Not enough to justify the water use. No yard work (apartment living at it’s finest), no auto repair, no babysitting nieces, nephews, neighbors pets, or moving-van contents. Then it slowly dawned on me. I could do whatever I wanted to do. There was no agenda. No plan. I could watch the Stanley Cup finals, or a movie. I could grill a steak, or create something equally decadent in the kitchen. I could nap, I could read…I COULD WRITE!!!

If you are not new to my blog, you know that I am a writer/author of M/M Romance, and that I occasionally dabble in poetry. I am also writing a F/F Romance tentatively titled “Shieldmaiden” and I would like to give you an excerpt today. If you are new to my blog, please feel free to look around and read some of my other posts. I write whenever and wherever the muse strikes. When, that is, the muse is around and not over at Starbucks eyeing the cute barista. My muse is hedonistic and will spend hours drooling over a good looking person; or an incredible sunset photograph, without so much as a by your leave, until I am forced to beg and bribe to lure her away. Today, this perfect Saturday afternoon, my muse is sitting zen like next to me on the couch, cooing with each new poem I post or paragraph I type in Shieldmaiden. My muse it seems, has been waiting for this cosmic alignment with equal fervor. We are a couple today. OM

Now, back to the Perfect Saturday Afternoon. Time for a glass of wine, a little fresh air on the deck, and if I am lucky, a kiss from my muse.

Shieldmaiden takes place on the Island of Breton, sometime after the erection of Hadrian’s Wall, and before Geoffrey of Monmouth penned “Leir of Britain” or contributed to the Arthurian Legend. In the story, the Shieldmaiden Bryn, the daughter of a Druid Elder, falls in love with the Princess Thalynder, the only daughter of the King of the Realm. Unbeknownst to Bryn, the dragon that companions the Princess, is really her own dragon; bonded with her at infancy and given to the King for his daughter in payment for protection of the druid clann from the raiders across the eastern sea.

From Shieldmaiden:

“I have no time for men,” Bryn said, her voice thick with renewed passion. She ran her free hand over Thalynder’s neck. She moved her hand to Thalynder’s jaw, and when Thalynder did not pull away, Bryn placed a kiss on Thalynder’s throat. Another kiss on her chin, then another on her mouth. She felt Thalynder’s hand touch her breast and she moaned against Thalynder’s soft lips. Bryn kissed those lips with desire and urgency, and was rewarded by a gentle squeeze of Thalynder’s hand, causing her nipples to come erect. She felt Thalynder relaxing under the kiss, and she moved to part Thalynder’s lips with her tongue. She felt Thalynder stiffen, then relax against her. She let her tongue lay softly against Thalynder’s tongue, and then felt Thalynder respond by pushing her own tongue further into Bryn’s mouth. Bryn moved her hand to the back of Thalynder’s neck and took the kiss deeper.

The lush dance of two tongues eager for the touch of the other; asking for more and pushing hard against each other to take all the other would give. Bryn felt Thalynder release her other hand, and then felt both hands on her tunic over her breasts. She moaned deeply in Thalynder’s mouth. With one hand on Thalynder’s neck, the other moved to touch the brocade tunic at Thalynder’s breast. Bryn moved her hand in a circular motion over the brocade, feeling the shiver of Thalynder’s body against hers. She moved to pin Thalynder against the tree, and then positioned her leg so that she could raise her knee and rub against Thalynder’s mound. Thalynder shuddered, then abruptly stopped the kiss and pushed Bryn back.

“No,” she said breathlessly. “A little at a time, my Bryn. I am only now getting used to kissing you.”

Bryn, as breathless as the Princess, released Thalynder from her position against the tree. She ran a hand over Thalynder’s cheek, then lay her forehead on Thalynder’s shoulder and sighed. “What am I going to do if you marry?” she asked.

Shieldmaiden is my first attempt at a female/female romance. I hope you like the draft excerpt that follows at the end of this post. I would love your comments about the excerpt.

For those of you readers of M/M Romance, my short story A Pharaoh’s Promise will be available free to Goodreads members under the Love is Always Write event, posting is set for June 14th. A second ebook, Light and Shadow, a Seventh Window Publication, is due out later this summer.

Some of us write because we love the words. Little words like His and At; words like Remorse or Morbid, and big words like Turpitude or Grandiose, that convey the thoughts that are ever wandering around in our minds.

Some write because we desire attention. Spilling our guts on black and white, calling attention to the bloodstained tear streaks of our lack of social status, hoping our voices are heard over the din. Willing our uncensored passion upon you.

Some write because we seek release. The bottled up thoughts, wishes, hopes, goals, passions, cravings, teeming against each other pushing against our synapse waiting for the explosive gasp of the muse.

Whatever the reason, the stories and verse we set down become as important to us as air is to lungs, or white cells to blood. Without our stories and verse we would gasp and choke, shrivel and die unable to fend off the invading virus of flaccidity; willing ourselves to step out into the crowded lanes of fast moving traffic. So, we write. Some of us are lucky to have our words read by others. We delight when others read and move their heads, either yes or no; it does not matter so long as the words are read. We pump our fists and raise our arms in the air when we receive a comment on our words. A review; a posted comment on a social network; a whispered “have you read this” heard on the train. We are amazed when others like our work, even though we ourselves love it. We nurtured it, fed it, cared for it, gave it a bath; a haircut, a new suit, made love to it. It is ours, and we expect to adore it. It is when you the reader finds a piece of our word filled pages and claims it as something that moves you one way or another, that we the writer stamps ‘paid in full’ in our ledger. Only then can we move on.

When I first put myScar Tissuecharacters down on paper, I did so with timid and unsure hands. I wanted to tell a M/M romance story of two men who come together because of an underlying current of connectivity. Each having shed past demons to become better acquainted with themselves. I had past demons. I needed to excise those demons. Thus, the two men came to my aid. Though these two men started out in a different story, they made their debut to readers here in Scar Tissue. For one of the men – Bob Elkins, it was a flippant journey. Callous at times, tender at other junctions, ever leading him along a path where he eventually becomes a stronger, more confident man in his own skin. For Mike Wells, it was a path strewn with boulders; one’s he could not surmount, being forced to go back and find another way around. Each retreat led him deeper into a solitary existence. Where Bob could laugh at his past and the deeds he committed to keep from starving on the streets, Mike could not laugh, and he hid from his past. There was anguish there, and pain.

When the two men come to the fork in the road that will either take them one way together, or split them apart, Mike is able to reach the top of the largest boulder that had been blocking his way forward. On the other side stands Bob; hands outstretched and waiting. They have many things in common. They are both former military, and fiercely patriotic. They are both loyal when it comes to friends. They both have lost parents. They are strong men; in heart, mind, and body. Physically intimidating, tall, and muscular. And, they are both gay. Each employed by the government during a moment in time when outing themselves could get them fired from their jobs…or worse. They struggle with their relationship as does any couple. What they have together cannot be denied, and it will endure. Scar Tissue is a novella and is available through Seventh Window Publications here: Scar Tissue

You can also find Scar Tissue at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

My next book, Light and Shadow, another M/M romance, again places two men at a crossroads. Cody Andrews has left his fast lane partner, and the glimmering sights and sounds of Los Angeles, for an abandoned and run down lighthouse on the rugged Oregon coast. He is determined to renovate and live in the lighthouse and create a new life for himself; far from the fast lane and its inherent dangers. He finds himself attracted to a tourist, Nick Stanton, who is out visiting the Oregon coast from Chicago. Cody and Nick hit it off at their first meeting, with just one little hitch…Nick has a partner of his own. A greedy, manipulative man named Ray Milner. Ray’s constant badgering of Nick and the quiet coastal town grates on Cody’s nerves, and Cody wishes he could silence Ray’s harpy declarations.

When Ray pushes his luck at little too far, Cody is the only one around to save Ray from his own stupidity. Nick is grateful, but can Cody leave it at that? Will he allow Nick and Ray to leave the coastal town peacefully at the end of their vacation, or will Cody try one last time to win Nick from Ray?

Cool winds, bright sun, a lighthouse, and two men; one who thought he had escaped the drama, the other deeply embroiled in it. Light and Shadow will be available later this year through Seventh Window Publications. More information will made available as the book nears its go live date.

A short story written for the Goodreads M/M Romance event “Love is Always Write“, entitled A Pharaoh’s Promise, is set in Ancient Egypt. A Pharaoh of the Hyksos Dynasty, King Khiyan, has fallen in love with the slave that carves and paints his image on the walls and obelisks of Lower and Upper Egypt. The slave, Gehdur, cannot believe he has been chosen by the King. He realizes his place is to obey, but his heart wants more than just to pleasure his King. He wants the King’s love as well. This story will be made available free to all Goodreads members June 14th. I will post a link once the story is published on the Goodreads site.

In the works is a followup novella to Scar Tissue. This one takes Bob and Mike into the jungles of Honduras and Nicaragua on Mike’s first covert CIA operation. Bob is already in Central America with the DEA, when he learns that Mike will join him; he is at first excited, and then distressed. Their forbidden relationship, thus far secret, threatens to heat up the already warm nights in the jungle and each man must make the hard decision to back away from the other before lives are lost. Sandinista guerrillas, drug lords, and steamy jungle nights bring Bob and Mike to a bridge that must be crossed…or burned.

And, for readers of fantasy romance, Shieldmaiden, is the F/F romance story of unrequited love between the daughter of a famous Druid High Priest, and the daughter of the King of the realm. The Princess, a dragon mistress, champions her dragon to find her true love. When the dragon discovers it is the daughter of the Priest, the challenge is to get the two women to recognize their destiny. The Priest’s daughter knows she is in love with the Princess and with the support of the dragon, sets out to prove her love worthy of a Princess. Shieldmaiden has not yet been picked up by a publisher, but my fingers are crossed…

The three novels in which Bob and Mike take a long journey through the jungles of Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, to the drug labs in Columbia, are ready and waiting for an editor and/or publisher to give them a home. Until then..

For those of you who follow my blog, I wish to express my sincerest thanks for doing so. My stories and poems are the white cells to my mind; keeping all dark thoughts from manifesting into crowded lanes of fast moving traffic.